Red Nose Day’s Telethon, put on by Comic Relief, aired on Friday 21st March, and we had the pleasure and honour of hosting Sir Lenny Henry at Broadley Studios to film a special celebration video for their Ruby Anniversary.
Looking back over the quadragenary, the idea behind the film was to see the evolution of living rooms over the past forty years, as viewers gathered to watch the event, a sweet and nostalgic concept that we helped to execute over at Broadley Studios.
We shot in Studio 2, all white for this special occasion using grid lighting, which works best in an all-white studio because it provides consistent illumination across the entire space, avoiding shadows and keeping the look clean, bright and sharp.
Comic Relief as us Gen Xers and early Millennials recall so nostalgically was started in 1985 by Richard Curtis and Sir Lenny Henry as a response to the 1983-1985 famine in Ethiopia.
And so RED NOSE DAY was born. The day we got to goof around at school with varying red noses on, hell I think we even got an extra Mufti Day so we could complement the red noses with some adequately unusual attire, ah those reckless happy days.
Over the past 40 years Comic Relief has raised over £1.6 billion which has gone to support more than 100 million people over the years. The charity has helped support communities locally and globally by providing food, healthcare and shelter to those who need it most.
This year’s extravaganza saw Jamie Laing complete five ultra-marathons in five days, which kinda looked exceptionally painful, followed by a special EastEnders episode on Thursday 20th focusing on Phil Mitchell’s mental health issues, to raise awareness and help reduce stigma around this widespread social issue.
Just shot a piece for BBC Studios and Comic Relief, everyone was very helpful, all facilities great. I used studio 2, white infinity wall, grid full of lights and sound proofed. Perfect.
Tim Fransham, Series Producer, Comic Relief.
Other shows that got the Red Nose Day treatment included Strictly Come Dancing and Gladiators, both shows being regulars over at Broadley Studios.
The show itself was hosted by a team of presenters including Davina McCall, Rylan Clark and Alison Hammond with other famous faces AJ Odudu, Joel Dommett, Alesha Dixon and Tom Allen to name but a few stars that participated.
Also, the Inbetweeners stars James Buckley and Joe Thomas reunited to perform a parody of Liam and Noel Gallagher’s journey from Manchester lads to global rock stars.
Star-studded and funny as ever this year they have raised over £34m and still counting.
If you missed it and want to make a donation, please follow this link to donate: www.comicrelief.com/donate
Positive Studios, the dedicated social impact arm of Broadley Studios, created to produce purposeful content that drives change, produced this film for Comic Relief. We feel honoured to have been chosen to participate in this momentous yearly event.
Watch a little behind-the-scenes video below:
We love you, Sir Lenny Henry - thank you for all the laughs, your hard work, and decades of dedication to helping make the world a better place.
And if you’re developing a project with a powerful message and need a studio partner, we’d love to collaborate, please call us on 0207 725 5858 or email us at info@ broadley.tv to see how we can work together.
Broadley Studios - For People with Something to Say
